UN Report Urges Israel to Eradicate 'Racial Segregation and Apartheid' in West Bank
Thursday, January 8, 2026 at 11:33PM Israel dismissed the 42-page report as a 'politically driven vilification,' which said tightened movement restrictions on Palestinians have fractured the West Bank, easing Israeli military control and expanding areas accessible only to the army and Jewish settler
by Ben Kroll 8 January 2025 Haaretz
The Elkana Settlement in the West Bank: Photo by Emil Salman
The situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has "drastically deteriorated" over the last three years, affecting "almost every aspect of Palestinian life," a new report published by the United Nations charges.
The report, titled "Israel's discriminatory administration of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem," published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday, calls on Israel to eradicate "racial segregation and apartheid."
The barrier wall in the West Bank. Credit: Emil Salman
Israel's mission to the United Nations in Geneva slammed the report, writing on social media that it represents "both a moral and institutional failure" by the OHCHR.
"The only 'theme' in the report is the attack on Israel," the mission wrote in a post on X, adding that the report "further exemplifies the inherently politically driven fixation of the OHCHR on vilifying Israel."
THE STATE OF ISRAEL
"Israeli authorities treat Israeli settlers and Palestinians residing in the West Bank under two distinct bodies of law and policies, resulting in unequal treatment on a range of critical issues," Volker Turk, who leads the OHCHR, said in a social media video accompanying the report. He added that Israel's practices are tantamount to a "systematic asphyxiation of the rights of Palestinians."
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The 42-page report says that Israel has "extended and intensified" movement restrictions of Palestinians since October 7 for two apparent purposes: To further fracture the territory in order to gain "easier control by the Israeli army," and to expand areas that can be accessed only by the Israeli military and Jewish settlers.
"In most cases, settlers use dedicated checkpoints, where movement restrictions do not apply," the OHCHR report says.
"Settlers thus remain effectively free to move around the occupied West Bank unrestricted," the report continues. Regarding East Jerusalem, the report charges that over the past two years, there have been "escalated steps to evict Palestinians and transfer Israelis into settlements."
The report also mentions Israel's plan to build over 3,400 housing units in the E1 area of the West Bank, just east of Jerusalem – a plan that is being rapidly advanced by Israeli authorities at the risk of damaging the possibility of a future contiguous Palestinian state.
The construction plans were delayed for years under international pressure. After the plan was approved in August, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, "The Palestinian state is being erased – not with slogans, but with actions."
"By severing the West Bank in two and cutting Jerusalem off from the rest of the West Bank, the plan will further dramatically restrict Palestinians' ability to move within the occupied West Bank, with catastrophic effects on their enjoyment of fundamental rights, including the rights to access health, education, and to maintain family ties," the report states.
In its recommendations, the OHCHR urges Israel to halt the construction of all settlements and evacuate existing ones in order to bring an end to its "unlawful presence in the Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible."
"With this aim, Israel must also cease policies and practices that obstruct the right to self-determination. Victims of human rights violations as results of such policies and practices should be granted full reparation. In the meantime, all parties must comply with their obligations under international law," the report says.